Tech 2.0 for Monday, June 10, 2013

The Xbox 360 is getting a makeover. Microsoft Corp. kicked off its Electronic Entertainment Expo presentation Monday by unveiling a new Xbox 360 with a design inspired by its upcoming next-generation Xbox One console. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's vice president of marketing and strategy, says the updated Xbox 360 is "smaller, sleeker and as quiet as ever." Mehdi added it would be available beginning Monday. Microsoft boasted that hundreds of new games are still coming to Xbox 360, which was originally released eight years ago as the high-definition successor to the Xbox. The gaming console has outsold rivals from Nintendo and Sony for the past two years. Microsoft debuted the Xbox One console earlier this year at its headquarters in Remond, Wash. It's set for release later this year.

Drake and Aaron Paul are bringing some star power to the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The rapper and the "Breaking Bad" co-star appeared on stage Monday at Electronic Arts' E3 presentation to promote games from the video game publisher. Drake hyped the next edition of the soccer simulator "FIFA 14," while Paul teased the racing game "Need for Speed: Rivals." Paul, who is starring in a film based on the "Need for Speed" series, arrived on stage in the custom Ford Mustang his character drives in the film. However, the celebs didn't garner the biggest reaction at EA's event. That was reserved for the moment when a group of 64 players were revealed behind a screen on stage. They proceeded to engage in a "Battlefield 4" multiplayer match.

Apple is throwing out most of the real-world graphical cues from its iPhone and iPad software, like the casino-green "felt" of its Game Center app, in what it calls the biggest update since the iPhone's launch in 2007. The new operating system, called iOS 7, strives for a clean, simple, translucent look. Apple is redesigning all its applications and icons to conform to the new look, driven by long-time hardware design head Jony Ive. Apple demonstrated the new software at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday. The new design direction was widely expected. The software strives for a multi-layered look, with translucent panels. On the main screen, the background image moves with the movement of the phone, creating an illusion of depth.

Apple says its long-expected music streaming service will be called iTunes Radio and come free with advertisements included. Apple Inc. unveiled the streaming service Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple says iTunes Radio will personalize users' music based on what they've listened to and what they've purchased on iTunes. The service integrates Apple's Siri virtual assistant so that users can get information by speaking questions such as "Who plays that song?" Subscribers to iTunes Match, which costs $25 per year, will get a commercial-free version of iTunes Radio. Apple says iTunes Radio will be available in the fall in the U.S. The service enters a competitive field. Google started an on-demand subscription music service called All Access last month. The service joins Spotify, Rhapsody and others.